Benefit Help!

[Lako42]

Ladies and Gentlemen

I was wondering if anyone would was able to offer any advice to my below question, any help is very much appreciated.

My Dad was made redundant last week after 22 years of working for the same company, he has never been out of worksince he started working down the mine when he was a young lad, and obviously now finds himself in a very difficult situation, not helped with the fact that my mum is disabled and cannot work.

My dad was considering applying to get his council tax payments stopped and possibly reclaiming some of it, however my brother and his girlfriend are currently living there and paying £200 a month between them. They both work but only £200 is given to my parents (that is all they want from them as they themselves are trying to get on the property ladder and struggling)

Does my dad have any chance in claiming his council tax relief? My mums payments for disability are currently not even being paid to her since the Gov't decided to interview everyone in the country who recieves the benefit and she is awaiting a decision (farcical as she can barely even walk/stand for more than a few minutes)

Iv'e never met anyone as hard working as my dad and I'm sure he will will get himself back on the employment ladder despite how hard it will be, but I truly think he should be entitled to some help after everything he's put in.

Will my Brother and girlfriend stop his entitlement to any type of help?

Thanks again

 

[Scodger Cubs]

As your brother and his girlfriend are working - I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be able to receive any benefits but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[bocadillo]

Your father, if under state pension age, will be entitled to Job Seekers Allowance based on his National Insurance contributions. This lasts for only 26 weeks and is subject to him actively seeking work. Any other benefits will be based on income and capital.

I'm surprised to hear that your mum's benefits have been stopped while a decision is awaited. Normally that isn't done until after the decision. Is it possible that she has been declared 'fit for work' and she is now awaiting a reconsideration of the decision? I heard on the radio just today that most of the appeals are being successful so that might not be as bad as it seems now.

I've got a feeling that your brother and his g/f being there might not be to his advantage. It might be expected that they should be paying their own way which they clearly are not doing at the moment.

 

[FoxCovert]

This f*cking piss poor shambles of a government will have a lot to answer for

 

[lazzer]

Not sure about the claims but your chip and mrs should be weighing much than that now cash is tight at least double. Get him on job seekers for now at least. If it were me i would get straight on agencies not sure what he does but owt would do for now. Hope he gets sorted. He hasnt got HGV class 2 by any chance?

 

[Motown Fox]

There is the Redundancy payment he receives, this may be taken into account (see below*) also in respect of any benefits. The rent is under the "Rent a Room scheme" figure which is available for Income Tax purposes and does not get included in a Tax Credit claim but not sure with regard to a JobSeekers claim

*As part of your benefit claim, you may be asked about any redundancy payments you have had from your employer. Your Jobcentre Plus adviser will explain whether these payments will have any effect on your claim.
You or your partner may get a payment from your employer when your job ends, eg final pay, wages if you worked a week in hand, holiday pay. These payments are not taken into account when considering your claim for Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support.
You can use the online benefits adviser to help you find out which benefits you are entitled to

 

[M17TT C]

Hard to say but I was in a shared house about 6 months ago with 3 other friends. One of my mates got made redundant and he was able to claim his quater for rent and council tax as benefits whilst me and my 2 other house mates were in full-time work.

May be different for owned than it is shared houses but definitely worth chasing up or getting your bro and his Mrs to 'do one' whilst the situation is as it is.

 

[jb5000]

By far the best thing is to get him down the local Citizen's Advice Bureau, all cases are different and this one sounds reasonable complex, their advisers are incredibly good though - far better than anything you'll get down the job centre or the council office.

 

[doolochfox]

Does my dad have any chance in claiming his council tax relief? My mums payments for disability are currently not even being paid to her since the Gov't decided to interview everyone in the country who recieves the benefit and she is awaiting a decision (farcical as she can barely even walk/stand for more than a few minutes)


Will my Brother and girlfriend stop his entitlement to any type of help?

Thanks again

Your Dad has every right to apply. And the sooner the better. Payments are usually not retrospective. As for your Mum's situation seek clarity as to why the payments were stopped/ suspended. The ATOS debacle is clouded in hysteria & political point scoring. Being run by idiots and liars doesn't help.

If your Mum was in receipt of Income Support (with long term illness component) or Incapacity Benefit she'll have probably completed a questionaire to determine her entitlement. ATOS often base their decision on this form alone. You are either declared fit to work, placed in a work focussed group or a support group. Payments should not stop. They may be frozen at a level until JSA catches up. Medical examinations are not always undertaken and your healthcare team may not be contacted. All interviews are mandatory, failure to attend may result in suspension of benefits.

If you disagree with the decision APPEAL. Get professional help to complete the forms. Claim ignorance, duress, etc. But APPEAL.

I heard on the radio just today that most of the appeals are being successful so that might not be as bad as it seems now.

Successful appeals are between 30% and 40%. There doesn't appear to be any data on the number of people being declared fit for work who do not appeal. And yet the DWP thought fraudulent claims were only about 2%.

 

[Leesoh]

Appeals are also time-limited, so you need to act ASAP.

 

[Lako42]

Thanks everone for some great advise, I won't reply to each individual contribution but rest assured my Dad and myself will be greatful for all of them.

Thanks Tb'ers

p.s. I will clarify my mums position, I believe she may be appealing a decision and hopefully any payments owed to her will be backdated.

Thanks again

 

[Brauny Blue]

My sister has just been made redundant after being in employment most of her working life. She told me that she was made to feel like a criminal when enquiring about claiming benefits.

 

[Cate Fox]

My sister has just been made redundant after being in employment most of her working life. She told me that she was made to feel like a criminal when enquiring about claiming benefits.

Believe me, I know what it is like... when I was made redundant in 2009 I was made to feel the same, despite paying my taxes from the age of 16. If you're a bludger your whole life its seems to be more acceptable.

 

[Lako42]

My sister has just been made redundant after being in employment most of her working life. She told me that she was made to feel like a criminal when enquiring about claiming benefits.

I think this is a real problem, I listen to my mum trying desperately hard to justify it 'we really don't want to, we feel terrible, if we had any other choice...'

I tell her she doesn't have to explain to everyone why they are trying to get some help.

This Government is doing the right thing in targeting the fraudsters but it is having a terrible effect of the people who actually need and deserve the help, it's making them feel like criminal scroungers, and the way this government talks generally about the benefit system is mainly responsible.

Good people have to claim benefits, David Cameron and his highly paid mates should not be making these hardworking people feel like scum with every press conference on the subject.

 

[Matt_B]

I think this is a real problem, I listen to my mum trying desperately hard to justify it 'we really don't want to, we feel terrible, if we had any other choice...'

I tell her she doesn't have to explain to everyone why they are trying to get some help.

This Government is doing the right thing in targeting the fraudsters but it is having a terrible effect of the people who actually need and deserve the help, it's making them feel like criminal scroungers, and the way this government talks generally about the benefit system is mainly responsible.

Good people have to claim benefits, David Cameron and his highly paid mates should not be making these hardworking people feel like scum with every press conference on the subject.

The problem is Lako that a large portion of the public who haven't had someone genuinely need benefits see everyone on them as scum and so this sells papers. This means it's a hot topic with politicians.

 

[doolochfox]

I grew up believing that my income tax paid for services, and that National Insurance (NI) provided for my pension and the unexpected. Every time a job has come to an end I've gone straight down the job centre and registered my interest to work. I've paid my insurance premium, so I'm entitled to claim.

This Government is doing the right thing in targeting the fraudsters but it is having a terrible effect of the people who actually need and deserve the help, it's making them feel like criminal scroungers, and the way this government talks generally about the benefit system is mainly responsible.

Good people have to claim benefits, David Cameron and his highly paid mates should not be making these hardworking people feel like scum with every press conference on the subject.

It's the media that latch onto the 'scum' quotes. I've been signed off for nearly 5 years. In that time I've visited the job centre 10-15 times. I've never met a government appointed assessor. The DWP has never contacted my consultants. The system is broken.